Quickies: Price Drops, Clie Updates, PUGs & More

Posted By: PIC Thursday, April 10, 2003 10:18:41 AM

Palm and Sony have lowered prices on certain models, DDH Software is giving away $1000 for an applet contest, new versions of TealScript and AcidImage have been released and Sony has issued a few software updates. Read on for more.

PDA Price Drops
The PalmStore has reduced the price of the i705 again, from $199 to $159. However, the $50 rebate only applies if you subscribe to a year’s worth of wireless service. The m500 is supposedly still available at $179, but has been out of stock since at least February, and doesn't show up on Palm's newest pages. The m105 is still listed here and there on Palm's website, but the link to order it has been gone for months. There is also a limited time special on open-box m125's for $79.

Sony has dropped the NX70V's price to $499.99 at SonyStyle – the same price as the NX60. Considering that these models are about the same except for the NX70V's built in camera, it looks like Sony may be preparing to replace the NX70V soon.

Thanks to Gary Ankney of edupalm.org for the price updates.

DDH Software is giving away $1000
DDH Software has announced the HanDBase Applet Contest for 2003. They are going to award a grand prize of $1000 along with second and third prizes of $250 and $100 CompUSA gift certificates respectively.

DDH is looking for creative, useful applets that marquis HanDBase's flexibility. Applets will be evaluated with the Forms User Interface being worth 50% of the total score and originality, functionality and overall use of field types rounding out the other 50%. You don’t have to be a developer and a demo version of HanDBase is available, see DDH software for more info. The deadline for entries is May 15th.

AcidImage 2.5
Red Mercury have updated AcidImage. The new versiobn features adds a Zoom/Pan ARMlet for much faster zooming & panning on OS 5 devices, jog dial changes and additional support for the NZ90.

LAPUG - April 12th - Sony Q & A
Dave Seperson, Product Specialist, and Chris Gulliver, Product Manager for Sony Electronics PDA Division will be Speaking, Demonstrating and answering questions about Sony's line of Palm OS PDA products. The meeting will start at: 10:30 am on Saturday April 12th in the Music Department at Border's Books at 1360 Westwood Blvd., Los Angeles, CA. For more Location information, check out the LAPUG website.

New England Palm User Group Apr Meeting
The New England Palm User Group is meeting on Tues, Apr 15, 2003 7:00PM EST at MIT, 175 Albany St, Cambridge, MA. The topic will be A wireless Palm user story with presentations from Scanning Devices and Palm SG. Check the website for more details.

TealScript – Graffiti Replacement
TealPoint Software has announced the release of TealScript v3.0 for Palm OS handhelds. Replacing the built-in Graffiti and Graffiti-2 text-recognition systems, TealScrip offers an improved, tunable alternative. Instead of forcing the user to adjust to a fixed set of reference strokes, TealScript is fully configurable, allowing training and modifying of existing strokes or addition of new ones for improved personal handwriting recognition. TealScript also supports advanced features such as macro strokes, multi-stroke characters, easy capitalization, better accuracy, and entering text using the full screen surface under PalmOS 5. TealScript retails for $19.95.

Sony Updates
Sony has posted two new updates on it's support site. There is an updated driver for devices with the WiFi Communications slot and an update to the Clie Files program. The WiFi driver adds compatibility with more access points and Clie Files adds a zip file extraction feature.

Readerless eBook
Brass TactEbook software has ePublished The Year of Purple Lawn Furniture, the first Palm eBook that doesn't require reader software. This eBook contains a small powerful reader engine and the ebook's content in one launchable application.

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buggy

HeavyUser @ 4/10/2003 11:09:04 AM #

When will Handbase have all its bugs fixed?

RE: buggy

dhaupert @ 4/11/2003 10:08:56 AM #

Please contact me with any bugs you're still experiencing. Since the 3.0 release, we've release quite a number of bug fix updates and feel we are shipping a solid product at this point in time. I don't claim that the application is bug-free, but if there are any serious bugs, I'd like to know about it so that they can be addressed ASAP!

Thanks,
Dave Haupert
dhaupert@ddhsoftware.com

NX70V price drop

Scott R @ 4/10/2003 11:21:55 AM #

"Considering that these models are about the same except for the NX70V's built in camera, it looks like Sony may be preparing to replace the NX70V soon."

Possibly, but I think instead that Sony will drop the NX70V and move the NZ90 into the NX70V's old price spot (or $50 higher). The NZ90 is too expensive now for even most super-geeks and too much of an oddity for people who might be interested in it as an alternative to a digital camera or camcorder. At a lower price point they'll attract more geeks and other specialty niches (realtors, surveyors, etc.), but even then the market will probably be pretty small. I'd like to see them reduce the overall length of the NZ90 and get rid of the camera bulge, even if they keep the overall thickness the same.

Scott

RE: NX70V price drop

big_raji @ 4/11/2003 11:07:21 AM #

It looks like SonyStyle changed the price BACK to $599.99, and added a free leather case and 64mb memory stick.

I remember seeing it at $499.99 a couple of hours ago, but I don't remember the extra bonuses.

Looks like they changed their minds, or it may have been a mistake of Sony's webmaster.

---
http://www.kinsmenclub.com

m105

Gekko @ 4/10/2003 11:26:29 AM #

>"The m105 is still listed here and there on Palm's website, but the link to order it has been gone for months."

fyi - You can find an open-box m105 in the Palm Store "Factory Outlet" for like $79.99. Lots of other models in there too.

RE: m105

bcombee @ 4/10/2003 12:02:23 PM #

Speaking of "factory store" specials, at Fry's here in Austin last weekend, they had a huge pile of refurbished Palm IIIxe devices in brown boxes for $80 each. The interesting thing is that all of the devices has been reflashed to Palm OS 4.1 (the IIIxe shipped with OS 3.5). Compared to a $80 m125, this isn't a great deal, but it was interesting to see Palm SG trying more ways to clean out old inventory.

--
Ben Combee, CodeWarrior for Palm OS technical lead
Programming help at www.palmoswerks.com

RE: m105 -> IIIxe's

mikecane @ 4/10/2003 6:12:12 PM #

DataVision in NYC is pushing a bunch of $80 IIIxe's as well. I didn't bother to see the OS rev. 4.1, huh? Odd!

Readerless Ebook is not a first

maynard @ 4/10/2003 11:25:26 AM #

There are quite a number of standalone, launchable ebook applications that I have run across, and many have been around for a long time. These include dog breed descriptions available from the AKC website, jewish chassidic literature available on freeware palm, manuals for several programs, and others that I cannot remember. The Jewish literature has a very well developed user interface. Perhaps this is the first time someone has tried to sell an ebook packaged this way? Even that depends on your definition of what is included in ebook and what is meant by "sell". Either way, this is definitely not a first.

"marquis HanDBase's flexibility?"

JonAcheson @ 4/10/2003 1:50:36 PM #

Firstly, a Marquis is a noble title, a marquee is the flashing sign on theaters.

Secondly, it's NOT A VERB.

That is just bug-fugly copy.

Jon Acheson

"All opinions posted are my own, and not those of my employers, who are appalled."

RE:

Gekko @ 4/10/2003 2:15:14 PM #

"showcases"

RE:

mikecane @ 4/10/2003 6:13:48 PM #

"useful applets that marquis HanDBase's flexibility"

-- oh my God, how did THAT slip through?! Is it in the original press release? Shoot the person who did it -- s/he's stealing food from a *writer*! (Then again... writers wouldn't do PR...)

TealScript v3.0

Ambassador @ 4/10/2003 9:27:31 PM #

This will allow us to keep our pen strokes! Wahoo!!!!
I was sure someone would get around to this. I'll be buying it when I upgrade to 6.0....

Serving Christ thru serving others,

Stuart